Friday, August 8, 2008

Add another brother to the snap list

From CNN.com

DETROIT, Michigan (CNN) -- New state felony charges were filed Friday against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, even as a judge, ruling in a previous case, said the mayor could leave jail under restrictions that include GPS tracking. State officials charged Kilpatrick with two felony counts of assaulting police officers, stemming from a July 24 incident.

The mayor already is facing charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct of office in connection with his testimony in a whistle-blower trial last year.Kilpatrick has remained defiant, and rejected calls for his resignation from critics, including the president of the Detroit City Council.However, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, acting under a little-used state law allowing the governor to remove city officials under certain circumstances, has set a September 3 hearing that could result in his removal, Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said Friday.

Kilpatrick appeared before Wayne County Circuit Court Magistrate Renee McDufee for arraignment on the new charges Friday. He did not speak in court, and McDufee entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

The next court date will be August 14 or 15, McDufee said, depending on attorneys' schedules.In the July 24 incident, an altercation took place as two police officers attempted to serve a subpoena on a friend of

Kilpatrick's and a potential witness in the perjury case, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said Friday. Cox alleged an "irate and angry" Kilpatrick grabbed one of the officers, shoved him into the other and screamed at both of the officers, using abusive language and "race-baiting statements."

"In almost 20 years as a prosecutor, and now as attorney general, I cannot recall one case where someone has assaulted a police officer who was attempting to serve a subpoena," Cox said.If convicted, Kilpatrick would face up to two years in prison, and as a convicted felon would no longer be able to serve as Detroit's mayor.

Asked about the new charges, Kilpatrick attorney James Thomas, who was leaving the Circuit Court hearing where Kilpatrick's bond was discussed, said, "We're going to fight there the same way as we fought it here -- the law and common sense."

Kilpatrick, who had been free on $75,000 bond on the previous charges, was ordered jailed Thursday by a District Court judge after the judge learned Kilpatrick had traveled to Canada on

Detroit business without notifying the court in advance as the judge had required.

Kilpatrick's lawyers filed an immediate appeal to Circuit Judge Thomas Jackson, who heard arguments on the bail revocation Friday. Jackson said he agreed with "almost everything" done Thursday by Judge Ronald Giles, but said he did not agree with the complete revocation of bail without conditions.In reinstating Kilpatrick's bond, Judge Thomas Jackson set the amount at $50,000 cash, meaning Kilpatrick cannot pay the usual 10 percent to be released. The mayor is not allowed to travel outside the three-county Detroit metropolitan area, Jackson said, and will be subject to GPS tracking.

Before McDufee, Thomas argued that additional bond should not be imposed in the new case, as Jackson's bond was sufficient. "We will comply with the bond conditions," he said.

But McDufee imposed an additional $25,000 bond in the case, although a 10 percent payment is allowed on that amount. She said she was adopting the conditions imposed by Jackson -- no travel and GPS tracking -- along with a new one: Kilpatrick is to have no contact with witnesses involved in the July 24 incident. Earlier, Jackson made it clear that he did not condone Kilpatrick's behavior, calling it "defiant" and "arrogant."

"A judge who makes some basic rules from the beginning expects those rules to be followed," he said.Kilpatrick has been embroiled in a public scandal since January, when the Detroit Free Press reported he had exchanged romantic text messages with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, indicating the two were involved in an affair. In testimony in a whistle-blower trial last summer, the pair, under oath, had denied any romantic attachment.

Thursday, Kilpatrick and Beatty waived their preliminary hearing and were bound over to stand trial in Circuit Court. Beatty resigned her post after the text messages were made public. If convicted on those charges, both would face a maximum of 15 years in prison.

1 comment:

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